1. Appointments, salaries, budgeting and other notes

There's been a lot of chatter lately over the people Mayor-elect Richard Berry is bringing into his administration and their salaries. For my part, I think it's a little early to pass judgment on Berry's team. He's only rehired one prominent Chavez

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2. Berry Keeps Schultz as APD Chief

Mayor-elect Richard Berry drew quite a crowd late Tuesday as he announced that Ray Schultz is sticking around as Albuquerque's police chief.

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3. Berry Continues Filling Out Administration

Mayor-elect Richard Berry has tapped two local reporters, including one from the Journal, as spokesmen for his administration. He also intends to announce the appointment of a police chief this evening.  

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4. ABQ Mayor-elect Berry Announces More Appointments

Mayor-elect Richard Berry announced three more appointments today for his administration: John Garcia will head economic development, Bruce Rizzieri will take over transit and Tito Madrid will run constituent services.

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5. Mr. Cog Scramble

News and notes from a wintry Friday: Lawrence Rael's plan to leave the Mid-Region Council of Government has triggered all kind of rumors about who might replace him. County Manager Thaddeus Lucero comes up in a lot of rumors, but he hasn't confirm

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6. Did I Mention I Had to Get up Early Today?

It turns out Mayor-elect Richard Berry is a morning person. What I learned this week: He's willing to start his day at 5:45 a.m. (for a meeting with garbage-truck drivers before they head out on their routes). He's pretty comfortable with the blu

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7. Transition tidbit

Mayor-elect Richard Berry says he's taking a positive approach to reviewing the operations at City Hall. It's common for an incoming mayor to complain about the mess left by the old mayor. But Berry's team has been rather quiet since the Oct. 6 elec

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8. Yep, City Hall's still there

It feels unseasonably warm today. The notes: Richard Berry called together a meeting of experts this afternoon for a briefing on H1N1. The mayor-elect told reporters that he wants to be prepared "to keep people safe" when he takes office Dec. 1.

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9. Baca Responds to Council Question

It's just like old times. Former Mayor Jim Baca is answering questions from the council. He weighed in on his blog today to say he didn't pay attorney David Campbell to represent him when he sued to keep a concealed-weapons law from taking effect in

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10. Campbell picks up support, etc.

It's snowing in Downtown Albuquerque. Onto the news: David Campbell's appointment as CAO is picking up steam. I found at least five city councilors who say they are likely to support him. That's a majority, which I point out in today's column in t

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11. Department heads, other notes

It sounds like there's a lot of interest in the fate of the city department heads during the mayoral transition. I think most of them will be replaced, though it's hard to know for sure. Martin Chavez kept only three of the roughly 20 department hea

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12. Pay raises, assumptions and the CAO vote

We've hit the lull between the election and the start of a new administration. Some thoughts and links: Joe Monahan says the votes aren't there yet for confirmation of Richard Berry's proposed CAO, David Campbell. I've talked to every councilor ab

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13. Thoughts on Campbell

My colleague Autumn Gray has a great interview in today's paper with David Campbell, the local attorney who might soon be running city government. Her piece touches on Campbell's favorite football team, his stint in the Peace Corps, city growth and p

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14. More on Berry transition team

Here's another look at who's doing what for the Richard Berry mayoral transition team: Sherman McCorkle is chairman of the transition team. Rep. Larry Larranaga will oversee the transition of the city's public utilities and facilities. S

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15. Campbell, White to Join Berry Administration

Mayor-elect Richard Berry announced plans to fill two of City Hall's top positions with veterans of local government and politics.

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16. Transition Time in ABQ

There's a new guessing game at City Hall: Who gets hired into the new mayoral administration?

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17. Breaking: First results are in

Election workers have posted the first returns in the Albuquerque municipal races tonight.

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18. One week to go

All three mayoral candidates are taking advantage of a peculiar rule in the public-financing system. The candidates can spend only about $328,000 campaigning, but they’re also allowed to accept in-kind contributions — up to $32,800 — that donâ

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19. Clear as Mud

The Journal Poll in the Sunday paper certainly got the candidates and wall-leaners talking. Pretty much everyone has a theory on how any of the three candidates can win. But I'd say most of the focus has been on whether the leader in the Journal Pol

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20. Weekend Odds and Ends

The Journal's poll on the mayoral race will be in Sunday's paper, so don't forget to pick it up. In the meantime, here are some tidbits on municipal politics: Richard Romero criticized Marty Chavez for employing a campaign manager who is also regi

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21. Fourteen days left

There's a city election Oct. 6, in case you haven't heard. Richard Berry has five sources of income, Marjorie Childress of the New Mexico Independent reports. City councilors say that if voters approve the transportation tax, it will stay in plac

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22. About two weeks 'til Election Day

Chock full o' political news: The mayoral candidates make a lot of claims about the state of city finances, roads and crime. I sifted through the numbers here. There's some truth to the claims made by each candidate. My colleague T.J. Wilham weig

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23. Romero on the Streetcar Debate

Mayoral candidate Richard Romero is opposed to developing a modern streetcar system at this point, but he acknowledges it's an "exciting idea" that could do some good. His latest statement on the subject follows the jump.

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24. Truth Squad-ing the Candidates

I tried to add a little "truth squad" element to my last story on the mayoral campaign. Here's the appropriate section: A Journal review of city spending shows evidence that could be used to support both (Richard) Berry's and (Martin) Chávez's comm

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25. Councilor Proposes Transparency Bill

City Councilor Rey Garduño is proposing a "Sunshine" bill that he says would promote government transparency. News release after the jump.

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26. Growth, another forum and gangs

Post-council-meeting news: Three hours of debate ended with the City Council handing the mayor a big victory by suspending or reducing impact fees for a year. It was one of those classic debates over how the city should grow. The mayoral candidat

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27. Impact Fees and the Most Successful Mayor Ever?

Short-week notes: City councilors tonight (Sept. 9) will decide whether to waive or reduce impact fees, a proposal that's emerged as an issue in the mayor's race. If Martin Chavez wins re-election, will he serve the whole term or try for a higher

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28. Back from the weekend

It sounds like it'll be a busy-but-short week at City Hall: City councilors tomorrow night (Sept. 9) plan to take action on the proposals to waive or reduce impact fees. The goal is to spur construction and development, creating jobs in tight econ

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29. Another endorsement, etc.

City Hall news, before the three-day weekend: Mayor Martin Chavez locked up yet another re-election endorsement. The Fraternal Order of Police, Albuquerque Lodge #1, announced its support Friday. I took a break from politicians for today's paper

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30. Lewis' Voting Record, Mayoral Endorsement, Etc.

City Hall notes on a stormy Thursday afternoon: The Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico announced its endorsement of Mayor Martin Chavez this week. The group cited the mayor's support for reducing impact fees, a move home builders hope

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31. Assessor: Be Careful of Financial Calls

Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya is urging people to use "extreme caution" in giving out their financial information to someone calling and offering to help them get a property-value freeze.

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32. Mayoral Forum Tuesday Night

Voters will have a chance to see Albuquerque's mayoral candidates in action Tuesday (Sept. 1) at a Westside Chamber of Commerce meeting. The forum is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Ladera Golf Course banquet room. Mayoral candidates Richard Berry

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33. No pay raises, the arts, snakes and some baseball

Mid-week notes, unearthed deep in the bowels of City Hall:It sounds like county employees won't be getting a pay raise this year. County Commission Chairman Alan Armijo, however, raised the possibility last night that the county could offer one-time

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34. Nob Hill safety, mayoral forum, etc.

Let's jump right into the Tuesday links:City Councilor Rey Garduno will push for more traffic signals in Nob Hill as a pedestrian-safety measure, according to Johnny_Mango at Duke City Fix.The mayor butted heads with his two opponents Monday in a for

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35. Forest Service to Add 140 Jobs in ABQ (And Other City Hall Notes)

Mayor Martin Chavez says the U.S. Forest Service plans to add 140 jobs around Jan. 1 as part of a reorganization that consolidates "high-level administrative functions" throughout the West in Albuquerque.Chavez said the jobs are expected to pay $40,0

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36. Another council candidate withdraws

The candidate lineup for the Oct. 6 city election keeps changing, as people move in and out of the races.

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37. More on Mayer, Plus Some Notes

My hunch is that Sally Mayer's departure from the City Council won't alter the political balance all that much. Mike Cook, a financial planner, is likely to replace her, given that the other candidate in the race is running as a write-in.Cook and May

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38. Mayer Withdraws from Council Race

City Councilor Sally Mayer just signed paperwork this afternoon to have her name removed from the Oct. 6 ballot. She won't seek re-election to her Northeast Heights-based district.

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39. Back for more

I've been away on vacation for a week, but here are some bullets to get things started:The Weekly Alibi has a lengthy question-and-answer piece on Mayor Martin Chavez.Trip Jennings of the New Mexico Independent takes an in-depth look at the mayor's c

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40. More on Airport Spending

I tried to get at the root of the debate over federal-grant spending at Double Eagle II airport in this story. Here's the jist: The new chairman of the Airport Advisory Board looked through an independent audit that said the city wasn't tracking gran

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41. Airport spending, endorsements, weed pulling, etc.

Mid-week news and notes:The airport board chairman's comments about federal-grant spending by the city Aviation Department are getting some headlines this week. If you're curious, the dispute seems to center on this 325-page audit report. The report

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42. Council Bans Engine Revving, Overrides Mayoral Veto

Albuquerque city councilors just voted unanimously to override the mayor's veto and send a package of a City Charter amendments to voters this fall. They also supported an ordinance that prohibits drivers from revving their engines to create "excessi

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43. Questions on Airport Spending

Something somewhat interesting came up that I won't be able to squeeze into the paper yet.City councilors tonight (Aug. 3) heard from an Airport Advisory Board member who expressed concern over how the city is spending federal-grant funds. He asked w

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44. They're Back

Albuquerque city councilors return to work tonight after a month-long break. They won't actually do everything on the agenda, but here's a look at what they can take up:A proposal to make it easier to use nuisance-abatement laws to crack down on peop

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45. Berry Picks Up Business Backing

Mayoral candidate Richard Berry this morning won the endorsement of a prominent business group, Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. Berry, a Republican state representative, faces incumbent Martin Chavez and Richard Romero, both of whom are Demo

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46. Porta problems, stimulus and the economy's in the tank

News and notes on a summer Tuesday:Reporting for the Albuquerque Journal takes me places I never imagined: This time, into the Porta Potty behind the Downtown library.Albuquerque's very own Martin Chavez explains to a national reporter how the stimul

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47. Mayor picks up labor endorsement; other news and notes

Mayor Martin Chavez added another union endorsement to his collection over the weekend. The Central New Mexico Central Labor Council, which includes public- and private-sector unions, announced support for his re-election bid on Saturday.

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48. The money's here finally

Albuquerque is just about ready to start spending its federal stimulus money, starting with 50 bus shelters.

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49. Police Spending, Campaigning and Tax Law

Tuesday news and notes:Joe Monahan talks with City Councilor Rey Garduño about the reluctance of officials to question spending on the Police Department, even amid tight budgets. Marjorie Childress analyzes Martin Chavez's campaign reports and quest

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50. Brasher Halts Council Campaign

Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Brasher shook up city politics late Friday by announcing he won't challenge incumbent Don Harris for a seat on the City Council.

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